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What issues are Calvin students facing outside of the classroom? The Center for Counseling and Wellness (CCW) is trying to address that this school year with the ongoing Thrive workshop series, which focuses on interactive skillbuilding to help equip Calvin students with the tools to deal with relevant topics in their lives. Starting with stress management and relationship workshops last semester, the Thrive series is now addressing drugs and alcohol.

“We feel it’s important for all students to understand the impact of drugs and alcohol, not only to help them avoid unhealthful behaviors, but to also give them some ideas on how to intervene if they are worried about a friend’s behaviors,” explained Becki Simpson, director of residence life.

“Each of the topics we have chosen for the seminar series is connected to common concerns we hear about through our work in the counseling center and our discussions with campus partners,” added Irene Kraegel, the director of the CCW. The idea is tied closely in with the mission of the CCW: “to nurture a campus culture of resilience, equipping students to grow and thrive emotionally.”

As a partnership between Residence Life and the CCW, Thrive is unique as it takes place in the dorms, though it is open to students on and off-campus.

“Thrive sessions are usually interactive, not just a lecture,” Simpson explained. “We also cover many of these topics in the counseling center’s workshops, but Thrive is a great way to pick up a lot of these main life skills that everyone needs, with a very small investment of time.”

Thrive sessions occur in dorm basements Tuesdays 3:30–4:30 p.m., and two have already taken place in BV and SE. Upcoming sessions will take place in BHT on Feb. 12, RVD on Feb. 19, NVW on Feb. 26, and KHvR on March 5.